1972 Chevy 4wd Longhorn Project: Never Ending Changes

[propanemudtruck]

I see people do it all the time with 2x2 .250 tubing, no reason you couldn't do 2x3 or anything else like that. Good Luck with your decision, I'm sure you won't under-do it!

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks for the idea, I don't know why I didn't think of it. This will save me money by not having to purchase the spring pads and lift blocks. I was looking at some from ballistic fab so I think I'll try to model the ones I build off of them maybe.

[watahyahknow]

it will put more load on the springs twisting them when accellerating and braking
there a couple of guys here in holland that send the leafsprings out
the company replaces the top leaf with the mounting eyes for a longer one add one more leaf for height and arches the ones below a bit extra , its not realy expensive and a bit better resisting the loads put on it and gives about 2 inches extra lift

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by watahyahknow

it will put more load on the springs twisting them when accellerating and braking there a couple of guys here in holland that send the leafsprings out
the company replaces the top leaf with the mounting eyes for a longer one add one more leaf for height and arches the ones below a bit extra , its not realy expensive and a bit better resisting the loads put on it and gives about 2 inches extra lift

This shouldn't be an issue because I plan on installing a set of traction bars on it once it is drivable. And, I don't want to add to the spring pack it has already because it will ride bad enough.

And another thing, the taller perch should be stronger than a short perch and block due to the new perch being one piece.

[DirtyLarry]

Lookin good Ryan!

[Dieselwrencher]

While searching this board, I found a pic of another 4x4 to show what I mean by the rear tires sitting clear in the wheel wells on these years of trucks. The top pic is the opposite side of mine but you can get the idea. Notice how the front tires stick clear out on the white truck compared to the rears. That is just how these trucks are stock.

[DirtyLarry]

Yeah, the front track width has always been wider than the rear on SFA trucks. Even more noticeable on the ½ tons. Not too sure I like the wide Dodge D80 axle in the rear of an old GM truck though….too wide for my taste. I guess I am just too used to the goofy look of the wide axle in front

I wouldn’t mind using a late model GM 10.5 or 11.5 axle to gain rear disks along with the nifty park brake set up but I can’t live with the width issue. I am sure different wheels and fender flares would change the look a lot though.

Your truck is coming along great! Not too sure about that width of that rear axle though.

[Dieselwrencher]

I think I'll get used to it because the D80 is still stronger than a 14 bolt. Besides with it being this wide, I may eventually end up doing a DRW 4x4 conversion to make it like 72Freak's blue 68 truck he sold this summer.

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

I think I'll get used to it because the D80 is still stronger than a 14 bolt.

Oh, I don’t know about that. I work for a truck manufacturer and we see plenty of Dana 80’s break all the time. Much more so than we ever saw on the old Corp 10.5 14 bolt FF that later became an American Axle 10.5" 14 bolt FF. Everything from side bearing retainer bolts breaking to axle flange bolt heads popping off, shearing off, hubs cracking, etc. We never saw any of those problems on a 14 bolt FF.

Below is the most common failure I see on my fleets running D80’s. The axle shaft bolts shears off in the hub. I never understood why Dana builds this big beefy axle with huge shafts, etc then uses the same little tiny 7/16 bolts at the axle flange that they use on a D60 and 70. These little bolts are the fuse of the entire axle. Heck, the 14 bolt FF had ½ axle flange bolts! Compare them next time you have a chance. Ring gear wise, the D80 is a beast! Good stuff. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it is stronger than a 14 bolt FF though.

[watahyahknow]

shouldnt be too hard to remove that weak link by boring and tapping the holes bigger and mount stronger hardware

[Dieselwrencher]

I will agree the industrial hubs are a joke. We have those in our W700's at work. I'm pretty sure a long while back, we had a TSB to replace all the hub to axle mounting bolts because Dana had a bad run of them. The dodge hubs are a lot stronger than those. Granted these bolts will break in the dodge style hubs, but usually you will break an axle first. Try putting a 14bolt in a 550hp 1100ft lb diesel pulling truck and tell me how long it lives. Heck, put it in a pick up and go drag racing. I have done it, and they suck for that application. The pick up Dana 80's are much stronger than a 14 bolt. I have used 14 bolts in dodges to try to save money and all it did was waste my time and money. The axles didn't even last 2 complete pulls and a dana 70 from a dodge would make a atleast 6 hooks and I hate them too.

[Dieselwrencher]

Well I pushed the truck outside to make room for ford month. I have 3 fords to get going by the end of the year. My brother is coming home from California and wants to drive his 92 F-350 back home. I also have the 04 super duty to finish. Plus in between all the mayhem, I have to get my 95 F-350 drivable. It is closer to driving than the Longhorn is. Oh well, it'll get done sooner or later.

[Dieselwrencher]

I'm going to check into getting some rear wheels made to set the rear track a little closer in the wheel well. Right now it is just too wide, and I haven't fully commited to making it DRW. That is still an option though.

[jbclassix]

I really like your builds

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks jbclassix. Can anyone tell me if the 8 lug wheels for the 88 up chevy trucks have a different offset like the 6 lug wheels of that era? That would solve my rear tire stance a little bit.

[watahyahknow]

might be eazier to try to find some aftermarket rims , havent found a website yet that had that info on stock steel wheels

maibe theres some info in the hollander interchange manual

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Thanks jbclassix. Can anyone tell me if the 8 lug wheels for the 88 up chevy trucks have a different offset like the 6 lug wheels of that era? That would solve my rear tire stance a little bit.

The IFS 4x4 wheels are offset to the inside much more than the straight-axle wheels. You also might check into stock Dodge wheels as they are offset inboard a bit more, but not as much as the IFS GM wheels.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

The IFS 4x4 wheels are offset to the inside much more than the straight-axle wheels. You also might check into stock Dodge wheels as they are offset inboard a bit more, but not as much as the IFS GM wheels.

Thanks. That's what I was hoping for. That is how the 88 up 6 bolt rally wheels I have is like. I'm going to call on a pair right now.

[jbclassix]

Originally Posted by mosesburb

The IFS 4x4 wheels are offset to the inside much more than the straight-axle wheels. You also might check into stock Dodge wheels as they are offset inboard a bit more, but not as much as the IFS GM wheels.

somewhere in my build thread is a picture of the 88+ wheels mounted on the Dana 60. you can see from how far out the hub sticks how much offset they have. I think in Mosesburbs build he has some picures of the earlier steel wheels mounted on a dana 60 front for comparison. I can go out and measure the 88+ wheels, I dont have the ambition today to take a wheel off the white burb to measure it, and my spare is a 16.5.

[69CSTDawg]

LOVING THIS BUILD,really wanting to do this myself for my next project,definately gonna use this for reference

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks for the wheel help guys. I'm also trying to get a shop to re-center my wheels if they will do it is another story. I don't know yet. Well, I have 2 more big customer projects to finish and then back on to this project. Look for a thread tomorrow on my brother's 92 F-350 we just got back together.

[Dieselwrencher]

No real progress but I did get some small parts. Funny story here. 2-3 months ago I was searching the net trying to see who had the cheapest prices on Cheyenne30 and Super emblems. Well I decided to get them from American Classic truck parts. I ordered one pair of each on their store, paid and everything. Weeks go by and I never heard anything. I called them and they never got my order. So I contacted Mekdad to have him build me some custom billet aluminum emblems. Last week Ken emails me and tells me they are done. Super. Later that day I check my account and low and behold there was a strange charge on my account. Can you guess? It was from American Classic for my order I never placed. So now I have 2 sets of emblems, and don't know if I'll send the ones back to American Classic yet or not. Dang the luck!

[BLAZERMAN]

You know were gonna need pics of those custom made emblems!! I thought maybe you would have small Cummins emblems made in place of the Super to go below the Cheyenne/30

[Dieselwrencher]

I'l get some pics when they arrive. I should have him make me some Super C ones but I actually didn't think of that.

[Dieselwrencher]

Here are some pics for you Rob to give you an idea of what they look like.